French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Boquel, E. Kern, Une histoire des haines d'écrivains
Writers: Biography, Letters and Memoirs
Anne Boquel, Etienne Kern, Une histoire des haines d'écrivains. De Chateaubriand à Proust
Paris, Flammarion
Essais Series
EAN: 9782081216532
Published: 15/01/2009
Price: 19 euros
Page count: 350 pages
see Robert Solé's article published in Le Monde des livres
E. Launert's article published in Libération.
see also reviews on the blog of Frédéric Ferney and on L'@mateur d'idées
"Do you truly have enemies?" This is what preoccupied Balzac in a letter written to his fellow writer Eugène Sue on November 18, 1832. Sue replied in kind: "Enemies? Oh! Excellent ones, perfect and in great numbers."
The pursuit of honors and glory is inseparable from the writer's condition, particularly in the 19th century when the press became all-powerful and book print runs soared. All of this provided ample motive for envy and resentment among our dear authors: Balzac accused Hugo of using puppet journalists to tear him apart, while Hugo would fall out with Dumas over some murky theatrical rivalry; Lamartine, selling off his unpublished drafts to make money, became the laughingstock of his peers; as for the Goncourts, they endlessly cried plagiarism: Flaubert copied their use of the imperfect tense, Zola stole the subject matter of their books… They all felt their fellow writers were unjustly celebrated. The Red and the Black is written in a provincial patois, according to Hugo; Sainte-Beuve—dubbed "Sainte-Bave" (Saint-Slob)—and Bloy shot at anything that moved, or nearly so; as for Jules Renard, he confessed: "The success of others bothers me, but much less so if it is deserved."
Because they are writers, because they know which word hits home and brings a laugh, their hatreds are so delightful for us readers. Flashes of wit, cunning and disdain, falsehoods and deceptions: let us not deny ourselves this pleasure…
Alumni of the École Normale Supérieure, Anne Boquel and Étienne Kern hold the *agrégation* in literature and currently teach at Paris IV University and Paris X University (Nanterre) respectively. Very young (twenty-five years old), these two literature enthusiasts possess a rare talent for recounting its backstage secrets.
RADIO AND TELEVISION BROADCASTS
Anne Boquel and Étienne Kern will be guests on:
• FRANCE CULTURE - Jacques Munier, "À plus d'un titre" – Wednesday, January 28, from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM.
• Public Sénat - Jean-Pierre Elkabbach, "Bibliothèque Médicis" – Friday, January 30, at 6:30 PM.
• FRANCE 2 - Daniel Picouly, "Le café littéraire" – Friday, February 6, at 10:30 PM.
• FRANCE INTER - Kathleen Evin, "L'humeur buissonnière" – Tuesday, February 17, from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
• FRANCE 3 - Olivier Barrot, "Un livre un jour" – Wednesday, February 18, at 5:20 PM.
This engaging study explores the turbulent personal and professional rivalries that defined the French literary landscape during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Tracing animosities from Chateaubriand to Proust, authors Anne Boquel and Etienne Kern examine how the rise of the powerful press and soaring book print runs intensified competition, professional envy, and public feuds among celebrated authors such as Balzac, Hugo, Flaubert, and the Goncourt brothers. The work delves into the backstage realities of literary fame, highlighting how ambition and wounded pride manifested in brilliant vitriol and lasting bitterness.
Rooted in the rich tradition of French literary history and biography, the book will appeal to readers interested in the sociology of literature, intellectual history, and the human frailties behind canonical masterpieces. By collecting these legendary quarrels, insults, and accusations of plagiarism, the authors illuminate the complex social dynamics of the Parisian literary world. It serves as an entertaining and insightful guide for anyone seeking to understand the intricate relationships, cutting wit, and fierce jealousies that accompanied the pursuit of literary glory.